Summer Camps At Chicago Children's Theatre Announced

Adventure (and free aftercare) await kids all summer long at Chicago Children's Theatre, The Station, 100 S. Racine Ave. in Chicago's West Loop, where a mind-blowingly fun series of summer camps will soon be in session right after school's end.

Spots remain but will get scarce as summer approaches, so visitchicagochildrenstheatre.org/summercamp or call CCT's Guest Services, (312) 374-8835, now to register your child for one camp or many.

CCT's summer of fun kicks off with its popular Adventure Camp series, each taught by top professional theater artists from throughout Chicago. Using legends, myths, fairy tales, and more as frameworks, children learn the basics of acting, songwriting, musical theater, choreography, collaborative story development, scene and prop construction, and gain new skills each week as they work together to create an original story. At the end of each camp, students perform their own unique play for friends and family in CCT's Pritzker Family Studio Theatre. Beginners, experienced performers and non-performers are all welcome.

Adventure Camp themes and dates are: Fantastic Feature, June 24-28;Comic Capes, July 8-12; The Mystery Tour, July 15-19; Hero to Zero,

July 22-26; and, The Greatest Invention, July 29-August 2. Adventure Camps are for kids ages 6 to 11. Tuition is $475 per week. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with before and aftercare available at no additional charge.

From August 5-9, it's girls-only at Chicago Children's Theatre, The Station.GRRL POWER, The Viola Project's signature girl-powered Shakespeare camp for young people who identify as female. Girls will spend a week adventuring with Shakespeare's most daring heroes and heroines. They'll even try their hand at stage combat so they can fight like a girl, and be proud of it! For ages 9 to 13. Tuition is $400.

S.T.E.A.M. Show Camp with The Butterfly Company, August 19-23, is part of CCT's commitment to the idea of Arts playing a role in S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). For this camp, CCT has teamed with The Butterfly Company to learn about butterflies, moths, and insects. Campers will unpack the science of these tiny creatures before doing their own pinning to take home. The rest of the week will be spent making a show about bugs through objects, puppetry, song and acting. For ages 6-9. Tuition is $475.

Camp Myth with CCT's newest education partner, Silk Road Rising, is August 26-30. In this camp, students will explore the enchanting stories of Eastern Mythology found along the historic Silk Road. Campers will then use these Asian and Middle Eastern stories to create their own show using acting, dance, song and craft. For ages 6 to 11. Tuition is $475.

But how about little kids? Chicago Children's Theatre will launch a new series of Story Time for Tots, Bubble Jams, and Chapter Books for Tots classes for youngsters ages 6 months to 4-1/2 years old. Checkchicagochildrenstheatre.org/education for updates and to register; 10 spots per class; first come/first served. Drop-ins welcome.

Rounding out CCT's 2019 summer camp roster are Film Workshop, a special three-day workshop that teaches kids how to use green screen technology to make wild and unimaginable special effects-driven scenes, July 1-3; and the return of Camp Red Kite, a three-week summer arts camp tailored specifically to the unique interests and needs of young people on the autism spectrum, August 5-23. Mainstage Show Camp: Frederick, a two-week camp based on CCT's popular mainstage musical, August 5-16, is already sold out.

Chicago Children's Theatre's education mission is both artistic and civic. Whether a child grows up to be an actor, performer, doctor, lawyer or scientist, the skills necessary to become a great community member are the same for everyone. Through teaching theater, Chicago Children's Theatre's classes and camps uniquely inspire community, teach problem-solving and collaboration, develop open minds and confident voices, and ignite powerful authorship of ideas.